THIS is the terrifying moment when a Siberian tiger attacked a female zookeeper in front of shocked visitors in Russia. WARNING: Graphicimages.
This is the terrifying moment a Siberian tiger attacked a female zookeeper in front of shocked visitors in Russia.

The young unnamed woman was taking food to the tiger not knowing that its cage was accidentally left open. As she got there, the tiger, called Typhoon, sprang on her and attacked her while shocked visitors watched.

The visitors at Kaliningrad Zoo in Russia were able to save the woman by throwing stones, tables, and benches taken from a nearby cafe until the animal backed away and the woman was able to run to a secure part of the compound. She was immediately rushed to the hospital and, though she’s in critical condition, she is expected to survive.

“The female zookeepers face was seen bleeding,” an eyewitness said. “She screamed and tried to fight back the animal.”

A spokesman praised the visitors and told of how the attack happened. He said it was the first time in the history of the zoo that the animal attacked a man.

“The animal entered the enclosure when the keeper was there,” said a statement. “The tiger attacked the human.”

Moment when the Siberian big cat pounced on the woman as she tried to feed it at the Russian tourist attraction in Kaliningrad.The images showed the woman lying on her back as the tiger pinned her to the ground, closing in for the kill.

Later zoo staff later arrived at the scene and shot a sedative into the tiger.

A local health ministry spokesman said: “The patient was delivered to the hospital with multiple wounds to the body and limbs.

“She is conscious — her condition is assessed as stable but critical.

“There is no threat to her life.”

The woman is in intensive care at a hospital in Kaliningrad, a Russian region wedged between the EU countries of Poland and Lithuania.

A criminal probe has been opened.

The Siberian tiger was born on July 1, 2001, in Chelyabinsk Zoo but was later moved to Kaliningrad Zoo.